News for the Heart of the Catskills

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY (October 15, 2014) – This past May’s graduates from the SUNY Sullivan nursing program achieved a 100% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), with all 13 graduates passing. The overall pass rate for all SUNY Sullivan students taking the exam stands at 93.33%, which includes two former nursing graduates (2013) who took the exam.

In just one year, SUNY Sullivan’s overall pass rate has increased by 37.3%, up from 56%. Anita L. McGlynn, MS, RN, CNE, and Chairperson of SUNY Sullivan’s Division of Health Sciences, which oversees the Nursing program, believes there are a number of reasons for such a significant increase. “Our nursing faculty has worked closely with the New York State Education Department to incorporate specific recommendations into our program,” said Mrs. McGlynn. “We deliberately downsized the number of students we admitted into the program and changed the rubric of admissions standards into the program.”

The nursing program also received community support to help graduates with the cost to take the licensing exam. “Liberty resident Dorothy Shapiro provided several $200 scholarships to help defray the cost for licensing and testing,” said McGlynn. “This enabled many of our graduates to take the exam shortly after graduation rather than waiting until they had accrued the required funds. We are so grateful to Mrs. Shapiro for her continued generosity and support of the nursing program.”

The NCLEX is the national nursing licensing examination and is the capstone experience to a student’s education. A passing grade demonstrates a set of competencies that allows graduates to begin their nursing careers.

“I am so proud of Anita and her staff for working so tirelessly to make necessary changes to the program,” said SUNY Sullivan President Dr. Karin Hilgersom. “This hard work has obviously paid off, and the program continues to strive toward teaching and learning excellence and a nursing education that is rigorous and thorough. Our nursing graduates are employed by hospitals and other health care establishments throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond, contributing to the overall healthcare of the area as well as to the economic development of the region.”

SUNY Sullivan’s Nursing degree program was reaccredited in March 2013 by the New York State Board of Regents.